Contest awards $1,000 for mad simulated ocarina iPhone skill

Want to win $1,000? Grab your iPhone and start practicing! A company is …

I must admit that I was quite surprised when SonicMule's Ocarina became an overnight sensation on the iTunes Application Store. The application, which simulates a four-holed wind instrument that was revitalized by its appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, didn't seem like something that would see mass appeal. In the end, I was wrong and the application spent a considerable amount of time atop the Top Paid Apps list receiving rave reviews from users and reviewers alike.

So, like any reasonable group of people, the developers decided to take some of their profits and give them away in a contest entitled "This Contest Blows." Today they announced the winners, all of whom posted videos featuring themselves playing simulated ocarina on YouTube. We have to say, we were expecting a bit more from the ten $1,000 winners. While some of them were somewhat original, we were really hoping to see ocarina-fied versions of Aqualung or Crazy Train to rock out to. While the version of Carol of the Bells was impressive, it just lacks a certain train of the crazy persuasion.

Luckily, SonicMule has decided that they are going to award five more $1,000 winners and open the contest up until February 13. We have some talented readers here at Ars, and $1,000 is nothing to sneeze at. We'd like to see one of our readers take home a prize by rocking out on Tom Sawyer or a classic Billy Joel tune in four part harmony. Make sure you watch this round of videos winners for ideas about what wins.

Let us know in comments if you plan on entering, or give us a heads-up via email after you submit your video.